E-shopping types

Harris Interactive has divided the online shopping population into six categories, according to their shopping motivations and current and future spending habits.

Membership of these groups is not static but changes over time as individual consumers become more sophisticated in their online shopping habits.

About 5 percent of Internet shoppers are classed as "E-bivalent Newbies". They have only recently gained access to the Internet and they are the least interested in e-commerce. They tend to be older and spend little time online.

A further 17 percent of shoppers are "Time-Sensitive Materialists". They shop online for convenience and to save time.

Approximately 23 percent of shoppers are in the "Clicks & Mortar" category. These shoppers tend to female homemakers who research products online but buy offline as they are worried about privacy and security.

Young, single, early-adopting, high-earning males are most likely to fall into the "Hooked, Online & Single" category, which comprises 16 percent of online shoppers. This group shop, bank, invest, play games and download software the most often.

One in 5 shoppers are categorised as "Hunter-Gatherers". These shoppers are likely to be in their thirties, married with children, and frequent visitors to price comparison sites.

About the same number of shoppers are "Brand Loyalists". They usually visits sites of known and trusted merchants. They are the most satisfied with e-commerce and spend the most online.

Source